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To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.

Link Code:   <a href="URL">text</a>

OR here's a link generator. The one I had posted died, then Akhilleus found one, but it too bit the dust. He found yet another, which I've linked here, and as of September 23, 2024, it's working.

OR you can always just block, copy and paste to your comment the URL (Web address) of the page you want to link.

Note for Readers. It is not possible for commenters to "throw" their highlighted links to another window. But you can do that yourself. Right-click on the link and a drop-down box will give you choices as to where you want to open the link: in a new tab, new window or new private window.

Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

Marie: Sorry, my countdown clock was unreliable; then it became completely unreliable. I can't keep up with it. Maybe I'll try another one later.

 

Public Service Announcement

Zoë Schlanger in the Atlantic: "Throw out your black plastic spatula. In a world of plastic consumer goods, avoiding the material entirely requires the fervor of a religious conversion. But getting rid of black plastic kitchen utensils is a low-stakes move, and worth it. Cooking with any plastic is a dubious enterprise, because heat encourages potentially harmful plastic compounds to migrate out of the polymers and potentially into the food. But, as Andrew Turner, a biochemist at the University of Plymouth recently told me, black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid." This is a gift link from laura h.

Mashable: "Following the 2024 presidential election results and [Elon] Musk's support for ... Donald Trump, users have been deactivating en masse. And this time, it appears most everyone has settled on one particular X alternative: Bluesky.... Bluesky has gained more than 100,000 new sign ups per day since the U.S. election on Nov. 5. It now has over 15 million users. It's enjoyed a prolonged stay on the very top of Apple's App Store charts as well. Ready to join? Here's how to get started on Bluesky[.]"

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

NPR lists all of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winners. Poynter lists the prizes awarded in journalism as well as the finalists in these categories.

Wherein Michael McIntyre explains how Americans adapted English to their needs. With examples:

Beat the Buzzer. Some amazing young athletes:

     ~~~ Here's the WashPo story (March 23).

Back when the Washington Post had an owner/publisher who dared to stand up to a president:

Prime video is carrying the documentary. If you watch it, I suggest watching the Spielberg film "The Post" afterwards. There is currently a free copy (type "the post full movie" in the YouTube search box) on YouTube (or you can rent it on YouTube, on Prime & [I think] on Hulu). Near the end, Daniel Ellsberg (played by Matthew Rhys), says "I was struck in fact by the way President Johnson's reaction to these revelations was [that they were] 'close to treason,' because it reflected to me the sense that what was damaging to the reputation of a particular administration or a particular individual was in itself treason, which is very close to saying, 'I am the state.'" Sound familiar?

Out with the Black. In with the White. New York Times: “Lester Holt, the veteran NBC newscaster and anchor of the 'NBC Nightly News' over the last decade, announced on Monday that he will step down from the flagship evening newscast in the coming months. Mr. Holt told colleagues that he would remain at NBC, expanding his duties at 'Dateline,' where he serves as the show’s anchor.... He said that he would continue anchoring the evening news until 'the start of summer.' The network did not immediately name a successor.” ~~~

~~~ New York Times: “MSNBC said on Monday that Jen Psaki, the former White House press secretary who has become one of the most prominent hosts at the network, would anchor a nightly weekday show in prime time. Ms. Psaki, 46, will host a show at 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, replacing Alex Wagner, a longtime political journalist who has anchored that hour since 2022, according to a memo to staff from Rebecca Kutler, MSNBC’s president. Ms. Wagner will remain at MSNBC as an on-air correspondent. Rachel Maddow, MSNBC’s biggest star, has been anchoring the 9 p.m. hour on weeknights for the early days of ... [Donald] Trump’s administration but will return to hosting one night a week at the end of April.”

 

Contact Marie

Email Marie at constantweader@gmail.com

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Saturday
Apr162011

Whoops! Big Whoops!

In today's New York Times, Charles Blow blasts the House Republican/ Ryan/Tea Party budget: "More tax cuts would be gluttony in a time of starvation. That is not America. That is a nation about to be plundered, and a people laid to waste."

I wrote a comment to Blow's column, later published at #2. Reader Helen F. found a teensy-weensy problem with it, though. Check out that last sentence. On my honor, I am not a closet Republican shilling for Paul Ryan. I really, really, really meant "Progressive" there. Here's my comment, complete with any and all typos, including the error in the offensive last paragraph:


So if you're looking for an alternative budget plan that will help not only the poor but also the middle class, look no further than the Congress of the United States, where the Congressional Progressive Caucus has proposed a budget that moves toward balancing the budget at the same time it encourages job creation, clean energy and education, and it continues entitlement programs in full force.

Of course the rich, the super-rich and corporations will have to start paying their fair share of taxes to bring the CPC budget into balance, and we might have to quit fighting no-win wars around the globe, but are those caveats so bad? I don't think so.

With only four defectors from the Republican party, and not a single Democratic vote, the House passed the Ryan/Republican Tea Party budget today (Friday) that ends Medicare as we know it and reduces investment in social programs like Medicare and food stamps. The bill will go nowhere in the Senate (unless the Democratic leadership wants to get some of those Republican Senators on record voting for this anti-American bill). Even if the bill should pass the Senate, President Obama has promised to veto it.

With the House Republican bill dead in the water, we need to turn our attention toward a budget that will work for the American people. I say that budget is the Congressional Republican* Caucus budget. Let's stop talking about the bad guys long enough to focus on what the good guys have proposed.

* Uh, that should be "Progressive."


My comment on Gail Collins' column is still sitting in the holding pattern, so I'll post that, too. Collins noted, with some disappointment, that Mitt Romney failed to include in any of his books the story of his family trip to Canada during which he kept his dog strapped on the hood of the car. My comment:

Thanks for the laughs, Gail. Only you could find humor in ex-Governor Mitt.

Of course the biggest joke of all is that Mitt Romney is probably the best candidate Republicans can field this year. Since Mitt has been running for President since at least 2007 (what is he exploring again?), Republicans are already pretty tired of him. They're looking around longingly for somebody great like another Bush brother or Gov. Whatzhizname from Indiana who beat Wisconsin Gov. Walker to the punch on stripping those elitist union members of their collective bargaining rights. (He did it by executive order! He's bold! He did it on his first day in office! He's decisive!)

I'm not among that huge core of liberals who fell back in love with President Obama after his American Values Budget speech (it was a good speech), but Obama sure looks good when you hold him up next to Paperback Romney. I wonder if Mitt noticed Barack (or ghostwriter Bill Ayers) wrote a children's book last year. If Mitt noticed, let's hope we'll get a children's book from him, too. I'd suggest he base it on that glaring omission from his No Apology tome. A family trip to Canada with an Irish setter strapped to the roof of the car sounds like great fare for the kids. There's probably a moral for them in there somewhere, too.


P.S. After having had literally hundreds of my comments axed or held back by Times moderators and after hearing the same stories from many other Times would-be commenters, I've decided to start some kind of Alternate Times Comments page for those of us who get whacked from the Times comments pages. Stay tuned. I'm not 100 percent sure I'll be able to manage it, but I will give it a try. 

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